Trip Report: Malaysia
Oct 11th, 2005, 12:26 PM
#25
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Laurie is exactly right. We move very deliberately, contemplating every motion. We're omnivores, but we're not fast enough to catch many live things. That's why we prey on the even-slower, but wily bamboo. Now that I think of it Bamboo is a lot like Bob.
Oct 11th, 2005, 06:36 PM
#26
After breakfast at the Club Lounge, which was very nice, we hired a taxi from the hotel to drive us to Bako National Park. Bako is about 30-40 minutes from Kuching. Since it could have been a problem getting a taxi from Bako back to Kuching, and we didn’t know how long we would be there, the driver gave me his phone number and told us to call him when we wanted to return, and to give him about 30 minutes to get there. This is one of the advantages of carrying a cell phone. The park is accessible only by boat so you don’t get dropped off within the park, but rather at a jetty. A boat to the park costs a flat rate of RM40 each way. It doesn’t matter if there is one person or 10 people; you pay for the boat, not per person. The ride is about 30 minutes and it drops you off near the park headquarters, which is a short walk. Once at the headquarters, you pay the entrance fee (RM10) and register in a book. Eric went over and registered us and paid while I put on my leech socks.
Many of you already know the story behind the leech socks. For those who don’t, I was worried about finding these as everything I had read said they are a necessity to keep leeches off you. Apparently, leeches are everywhere in the jungles of Malaysian Borneo. I was having trouble finding them anywhere in the US and web searches were turning up nothing. Hawaiiantraveler found a site which sells them and directed me to the site. They were $25 per pair, about $22 more than what you would pay in Borneo. I deliberated as to whether to pay $50 for two pair and ended up taking a chance I would find them once in Borneo.
Bako has about 10 different trails, covering about 30km. The shortest can be hiked in less than an hour; the longest will take more than a day. The trails are color coded but it can be confusing. We chose a trail that was good for seeing the proboscis monkey (two trails are good for this, the Telok Paku and Telok Delima; we chose the Telok Paku, which ends at a cove beach). The suggested time for this trail is about an hour but it usually takes me twice as long since I cannot navigate steep trails easily. I have a problem with my equilibrium, which I developed in my early or mid twenties. I must have had an ear infection that I’ve long since forgotten about. If I confront anything that is remotely steep, I freeze. This includes hills and long staircases. I need to hold on to something (usually Eric but anything will do, even a plant) or I can’t take the next step. I’m terrified of falling. Although a problem, it almost never stops me from doing things. I’ve climbed a volcano, up to the Monastery in Petra (a grueling 90 minute hike on VERY steep stones worn slick and smooth over 1000 years), to the top of Angkor Wat, and many others. I always climb up wondering how on earth I’ll get down, but somehow I do it. One thing I did not attempt was Uluru (Ayres Rock in Australia), not only because it is very steep but also because the Aborigines consider it sacred and I didn’t want to stomp on sacred ground. I did a hike around the base instead.
On the walk to the trail, we encountered many macaques. Unfortunately, this was the only wildlife we saw at Bako. The trail was still great however. There were quite a few climbs, using tree roots and fallen branches and rocks as steps. There are a couple of rickety ladders and once in a while a wooden platform with a handrail, for which I was very grateful. The scenery on the trail was stunning and I really enjoyed it. We saw some other hikers every now and then but mostly we were alone. We were keeping a lookout for the proboscis and would ask other hikers coming from the other direction if they saw any, but no one did that day. We did see some birds and lizards but nothing we haven’t seen many times before. We did see some nice butterflies though. There were some mosquitoes but surprisingly, not too many. We were covered in insect repellant so maybe they just stayed away from us. One thing we did not see was leeches. Not one. While relieved, I also was a bit disappointed, hoping to have a good leech story to tell. Sorry folks, I know many of you were looking forward to hearing about them. I was also the only person wearing leech socks. None of the other hikers had them and many were wearing shorts and regular socks. I felt pretty stupid in my leech socks.
It was extremely humid and that slowed us down a bit too. One thing we found, at Sepilok, Bako and Batang Ai, is that even though it’s hot and humid in town, it’s not unbearable, but as soon as you hit the jungle, the humidity really climbs and within minutes, you’re soaking wet.
At the end of the trail is a cove beach, which was beautiful. It made me wish I had brought a bathing suit. We walked on the beach a bit and rested. Right where the jungle meets the beach was a gazebo. It began to rain so we went to the gazebo for cover. We made it there just in time. The heavens opened up and it started to pour. We were then joined by another hiker who also came to take cover, Richard, a lovely young man from Dublin. We began talking and comparing travel stories. He was taking 6 months and traveling all over South East Asia, and had another few weeks to go. He started out with a friend but the friend left early and Richard was traveling by himself. Since we had been to many of the places he had visited or was going to, we had a lot to talk about. Since I knew that he probably had to stretch his budget, we invited him to take the boat back with us and take our cab back to Kuching. He accepted but wanted to pay his share. We wouldn’t hear of it. We were going to be paying whether he came or not so it made no difference to us. Besides, we could afford it a lot better than he could.
The rain ended after about half an hour and we made our way back, on the same trail, still looking for monkeys and me still terrified about the steep climb down. We would have loved to have done another hike but were too exhausted. We’re not getting any younger and cannot undertake two strenuous hikes, one after another. We would have needed to rest for a few hours at least. This is when I was sorry we hadn’t planned for at least a night at Bako. I’ll know better next time. I called the taxi driver and told him to come and get us while Eric signed us out at HQ. I don’t know what would happen if we hadn’t signed out. Maybe they send out the troops to look for people who never sign out. You could easily slip and break a leg or worse in there and you’re pretty much stuck and would have to depend on someone to go and get help.
Eric, Richard and I got the boat back to the jetty and waited at a café for the taxi. Richard really wanted to do something for us so I told him he could buy us a coke to share if it would make him feel better. He did, I felt guilty taking it. The taxi came and brought us back to the Hilton, where we said our goodbyes to Richard. I hope he’s having a good time, wherever he is.
After much needed showers, we got a bite to eat at the Hilton’s Waterfront café. It was raining so we decided to wait the rain out there. They had the best spring rolls I have ever tasted. After some food and a beer we walked around town for a little while. We went to a small craft shop where I bought a small batik wall hanging and a print of Fort Margherita. This fort was built by Charles Brooke in 1879 to guard Kuching from pirates. We didn’t go to the fort but we had a good view of it from our room. We also went to see a big statue of cats not far from the hotel. Kuching has several cat statues situated around the city, the most famous being a giant white cat known as The Great Cat of Kuching. How can you not love this city? We were going to Batang Ai the following day, which is in the middle of nowhere, with no town or stores, so we decided to stop in a wine shop and buy a bottle of wine to bring. We got a nice French Bordeux.
Back at the hotel for cocktails and trying to figure out where to have dinner. We decided to go to the Mango Tree (of Bangkok fame). We took a taxi there as it is a little out of the center of town. It’s a beautiful restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside which turned out to be a mistake. There was some kind of affair going on, not sure if it was a wedding or what, but they were outside and had karaoke going on and it was loud and rather obnoxious. At times, we had to yell over the music just to talk to each other. We ordered Larb, one of my favorites and something I always make sure I have in Thailand. I’m sure I don’t have to explain what larb is to all of you. We also ordered seafood in a spicy lime juice, which was very good. The main courses we ordered were very bland compared to the appetizers. One was mixed vegetables with prawns and I think the other was a grilled whole fish. We drank beer and shared a desert as well. The bill came to RM103.79. It seemed like every meal we had cost about $28. The restaurant is very nice but I would call ahead and make sure there is no special function there if you go. That or bring ear plugs.
Back at the hotel, we watched some TV and I called my sister in Texas to tell her we were still alive and to find out what was going on. Then it was bedtime; we had an 8am transfer to Batang Ai.
Next up: Batang Ai, the big mistake.
Many of you already know the story behind the leech socks. For those who don’t, I was worried about finding these as everything I had read said they are a necessity to keep leeches off you. Apparently, leeches are everywhere in the jungles of Malaysian Borneo. I was having trouble finding them anywhere in the US and web searches were turning up nothing. Hawaiiantraveler found a site which sells them and directed me to the site. They were $25 per pair, about $22 more than what you would pay in Borneo. I deliberated as to whether to pay $50 for two pair and ended up taking a chance I would find them once in Borneo.
Bako has about 10 different trails, covering about 30km. The shortest can be hiked in less than an hour; the longest will take more than a day. The trails are color coded but it can be confusing. We chose a trail that was good for seeing the proboscis monkey (two trails are good for this, the Telok Paku and Telok Delima; we chose the Telok Paku, which ends at a cove beach). The suggested time for this trail is about an hour but it usually takes me twice as long since I cannot navigate steep trails easily. I have a problem with my equilibrium, which I developed in my early or mid twenties. I must have had an ear infection that I’ve long since forgotten about. If I confront anything that is remotely steep, I freeze. This includes hills and long staircases. I need to hold on to something (usually Eric but anything will do, even a plant) or I can’t take the next step. I’m terrified of falling. Although a problem, it almost never stops me from doing things. I’ve climbed a volcano, up to the Monastery in Petra (a grueling 90 minute hike on VERY steep stones worn slick and smooth over 1000 years), to the top of Angkor Wat, and many others. I always climb up wondering how on earth I’ll get down, but somehow I do it. One thing I did not attempt was Uluru (Ayres Rock in Australia), not only because it is very steep but also because the Aborigines consider it sacred and I didn’t want to stomp on sacred ground. I did a hike around the base instead.
On the walk to the trail, we encountered many macaques. Unfortunately, this was the only wildlife we saw at Bako. The trail was still great however. There were quite a few climbs, using tree roots and fallen branches and rocks as steps. There are a couple of rickety ladders and once in a while a wooden platform with a handrail, for which I was very grateful. The scenery on the trail was stunning and I really enjoyed it. We saw some other hikers every now and then but mostly we were alone. We were keeping a lookout for the proboscis and would ask other hikers coming from the other direction if they saw any, but no one did that day. We did see some birds and lizards but nothing we haven’t seen many times before. We did see some nice butterflies though. There were some mosquitoes but surprisingly, not too many. We were covered in insect repellant so maybe they just stayed away from us. One thing we did not see was leeches. Not one. While relieved, I also was a bit disappointed, hoping to have a good leech story to tell. Sorry folks, I know many of you were looking forward to hearing about them. I was also the only person wearing leech socks. None of the other hikers had them and many were wearing shorts and regular socks. I felt pretty stupid in my leech socks.
It was extremely humid and that slowed us down a bit too. One thing we found, at Sepilok, Bako and Batang Ai, is that even though it’s hot and humid in town, it’s not unbearable, but as soon as you hit the jungle, the humidity really climbs and within minutes, you’re soaking wet.
At the end of the trail is a cove beach, which was beautiful. It made me wish I had brought a bathing suit. We walked on the beach a bit and rested. Right where the jungle meets the beach was a gazebo. It began to rain so we went to the gazebo for cover. We made it there just in time. The heavens opened up and it started to pour. We were then joined by another hiker who also came to take cover, Richard, a lovely young man from Dublin. We began talking and comparing travel stories. He was taking 6 months and traveling all over South East Asia, and had another few weeks to go. He started out with a friend but the friend left early and Richard was traveling by himself. Since we had been to many of the places he had visited or was going to, we had a lot to talk about. Since I knew that he probably had to stretch his budget, we invited him to take the boat back with us and take our cab back to Kuching. He accepted but wanted to pay his share. We wouldn’t hear of it. We were going to be paying whether he came or not so it made no difference to us. Besides, we could afford it a lot better than he could.
The rain ended after about half an hour and we made our way back, on the same trail, still looking for monkeys and me still terrified about the steep climb down. We would have loved to have done another hike but were too exhausted. We’re not getting any younger and cannot undertake two strenuous hikes, one after another. We would have needed to rest for a few hours at least. This is when I was sorry we hadn’t planned for at least a night at Bako. I’ll know better next time. I called the taxi driver and told him to come and get us while Eric signed us out at HQ. I don’t know what would happen if we hadn’t signed out. Maybe they send out the troops to look for people who never sign out. You could easily slip and break a leg or worse in there and you’re pretty much stuck and would have to depend on someone to go and get help.
Eric, Richard and I got the boat back to the jetty and waited at a café for the taxi. Richard really wanted to do something for us so I told him he could buy us a coke to share if it would make him feel better. He did, I felt guilty taking it. The taxi came and brought us back to the Hilton, where we said our goodbyes to Richard. I hope he’s having a good time, wherever he is.
After much needed showers, we got a bite to eat at the Hilton’s Waterfront café. It was raining so we decided to wait the rain out there. They had the best spring rolls I have ever tasted. After some food and a beer we walked around town for a little while. We went to a small craft shop where I bought a small batik wall hanging and a print of Fort Margherita. This fort was built by Charles Brooke in 1879 to guard Kuching from pirates. We didn’t go to the fort but we had a good view of it from our room. We also went to see a big statue of cats not far from the hotel. Kuching has several cat statues situated around the city, the most famous being a giant white cat known as The Great Cat of Kuching. How can you not love this city? We were going to Batang Ai the following day, which is in the middle of nowhere, with no town or stores, so we decided to stop in a wine shop and buy a bottle of wine to bring. We got a nice French Bordeux.
Back at the hotel for cocktails and trying to figure out where to have dinner. We decided to go to the Mango Tree (of Bangkok fame). We took a taxi there as it is a little out of the center of town. It’s a beautiful restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside which turned out to be a mistake. There was some kind of affair going on, not sure if it was a wedding or what, but they were outside and had karaoke going on and it was loud and rather obnoxious. At times, we had to yell over the music just to talk to each other. We ordered Larb, one of my favorites and something I always make sure I have in Thailand. I’m sure I don’t have to explain what larb is to all of you. We also ordered seafood in a spicy lime juice, which was very good. The main courses we ordered were very bland compared to the appetizers. One was mixed vegetables with prawns and I think the other was a grilled whole fish. We drank beer and shared a desert as well. The bill came to RM103.79. It seemed like every meal we had cost about $28. The restaurant is very nice but I would call ahead and make sure there is no special function there if you go. That or bring ear plugs.
Back at the hotel, we watched some TV and I called my sister in Texas to tell her we were still alive and to find out what was going on. Then it was bedtime; we had an 8am transfer to Batang Ai.
Next up: Batang Ai, the big mistake.
Oct 11th, 2005, 09:54 PM
#30
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laurie
i agree with you that batang ai is a lot of effort to get to for not that special an experience. its ok for a weekend getaway for relaxing i guess but there really isnt all that much else. longhouses you can get to from kuching itself.
hope it wasnt too bad though.
i agree with you that batang ai is a lot of effort to get to for not that special an experience. its ok for a weekend getaway for relaxing i guess but there really isnt all that much else. longhouses you can get to from kuching itself.
hope it wasnt too bad though.
Oct 12th, 2005, 04:52 AM
#32
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laurie
forgot to thank you for the good wishes and the welcome home. the same to you, of course.
you know, speaking of how funny the orang-utans are, i had a friend who took a japanese visitor to our semengoh rehab centre and one of the orang utans actually came up and unzipped his trousers and put his hand in!! i dont know how they got out of that situation eventually. another time, they came and clasped a visitor's ankle. they are very strong so it can be a little scary.
the message is get out of their way. some of them have been at the rehab centres for some time and learnt 'tricks'.
forgot to thank you for the good wishes and the welcome home. the same to you, of course.
you know, speaking of how funny the orang-utans are, i had a friend who took a japanese visitor to our semengoh rehab centre and one of the orang utans actually came up and unzipped his trousers and put his hand in!! i dont know how they got out of that situation eventually. another time, they came and clasped a visitor's ankle. they are very strong so it can be a little scary.
the message is get out of their way. some of them have been at the rehab centres for some time and learnt 'tricks'.
Oct 12th, 2005, 02:23 PM
#36
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. More will be coming shortly. In fact, I stayed home from work today since I'm still quite a wreck and began the next installment but then I went to lie down for 20 minutes at about noon and ended up sleeping the entire day! I just woke up so after dinner, I'll type some more.
Oct 12th, 2005, 03:47 PM
#38
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Hi Laurieco, Thanks for the great trip report and bringing back memories for me. We went to Kuching in 1997, stayed 4 days in the city and then went out to the Damai Lagoon Resort (not to be confused with the Damai Beach Resrot) for 8 days. We have also vowed to go back there. We did the same trip to Bako and it sounds like the same walking trail but we remembered to take our bathers! We hired a guide from the tourist centre and he organised the boat to meet us at the cove so we didn't have to walk back. We were lucky enough to see the proboscus monkeys. The best meal we had in Kuching was at the little cafe at the jetty, probably where you had your coke. We were very hesitant about eating there but we had a feast that cost next to nothing. Oh the memories!!!!!! Looking forward to your next instalment. Cheers.
